LIST AND DESCRIPTION 89 



complete circle and darkly bordered. Its chief food is mice, 

 which makes it highly valuable from an economic standpoint. 



In the summer of 1919 a number of these Owls were seen 

 during day time hiding in cavities of the red brown limestone 

 bluffs along the Missouri River near Springfield. The reddish 

 gray plumage of the Owl was so nearly the color of the "red 

 chalk rock" that the protective coloration was almost perfect. 



366. LONG-EARED OWL (Asio wilsonianus.) 



Common over the entire State, nesting in trees along 

 wooded rivers and creeks. About fourteen inches in length; 

 below, buff, usually streaked and crossbarred with brownish 

 black; long ear tufts and yellow eyes. These birds are invalu- 

 able to the farmer, as their food consists almost entirely of in- 

 jurious rodents. 



367. SHORT-EARED OWL (Asio flammeus.) 



Length fifteen to sixteen inches; ear tufts short; above, 

 black and brown, each feather having a blackish center margined 

 with brown; below, lighter and streaked with brown; never 

 barred. The plumage of the female is usually slightly darker 

 than that of the male. 



This is almost exclusively a prairie Owl. It hunts for 

 mice and other small rodents over our prairies and marshes, and 

 nests on the ground in a clump of weeds or tall grass. It is 

 found over the entire State, and should never be killed, but pro- 

 tected and encouraged to increase in numbers. 



368. BARRED OWL (Strix varia varia.) 



A summer resident but rare in South Dakota, its range 

 being in the eastern United States. 



Length twenty inches; general appearance tawny, with 

 back, head and breast barred with white ; belly lighter but with 

 blackish streaks ; no ear tufts ; eyes black ; toes feathered nearly 

 to the nails. 



370. GREAT GRAY OWL (Scotiaptex nebulosa nebulosa.) 



This Owl breeds in the far north. As far as we know 

 there is no record of its having been taken in the State, except 

 that Dr. Elliott Coues reports it as "straying south iri winter 



